The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-04-28


great enterprises of reform and art, and lit
erature, and beneficence and public veal to be
carried on II every man Is to have his
world bounded on one side by his front door
step, and on the other side by his back win
dow, knowing nothing higher than his own
attic, or lower than his own cellarl That
wife who becomes jealous of her husbands
charity is breaking her own sceptre of CON
jugal power. / know an instance where a
wife thought that her husband was
giving too many nights to Chris
tian service, to charitable service, to
prayer-meetings, and TO religious convoca-
ton. She systematically decoyed him away
until now he attends no church. waits upon
no charitable institution, and is on rapid
way to destruction, his morals gone, his
money gone, and fear his soul gone. Let
any Christian wife rejoice when her husband
consecrates evenings to the service of human
ity, and of God, or charity, or art, or any
thing elevating.
society life, as many do, can point out to
you a great many names of men who are
guilty Of this sncrilege They are as genial
as angels at the society room, and as
ugly as sin at home. They are generous on
all subjects of wine suppers, yachts and
fast horses but they are stingy about the
wives dresses and the children's shoes. That
full influence, a usurper of his affections, and
he has married it, and he is guilty of moral
pigamy, Under this process, the wife, what
ever her features, becomes uninteresting
and homely. He becomes critical Of
her, does not like the dress, does
not like the way she arranges
her hair, is amazed that he ever was so UNI
romantic as to offer het hand and heart.
There are secret societies where membership
always involves domestic shipwreck. Tell
me that man has joined certain kind, and
tell me nothing more about him for ten years,
and will write his history if he be still alive.
The man is wine guzzler, his wife
broken hearted or prematurely old, his
fortune gone or reduced, and his
home mere name in a directory.
Here are six secular nights in the week.
What shall do with them q says the father
and the husband. ~ will give four of these
nights to the improvement and entertainment
OF my family, either at home or in good
neighborhood. l will devote one to chart
table institutions. ! will devote one to my
lodge"
congratulate you Here is man who
says: "Out of the six secular nights OF the
week will devote five to lodges and clubs
and associations and one to the home, which
night will spend in scowling like March
squall, wishing | was out spending it as l
have spent the other five nights" That mans
ID WIlIltu. NOI Ouo OuJ vi lu,OO
that ever gets so far on the wrong road
ever stops. Gradually his health will fail
through late hours, and through too much
stimulants he will be first rate prey for cry
sipelas and rheumatism of the heart. The
doctor coming in will at a glance see it is not
only present disease he must fight but
years Of fast living The clergyman, for
family, on the funeral day will only talk in
religious generalties, The men who got his
yacht in the eternal rapids will not be at the
obsequies They have pressing engagements
that day. They will send flowers to the coffin,
will send their wives to utter words of sym
pathy but they will have engagements else
where. They never come. Bring me mallet
and chisel, and will cut on the tombstone
that mans epitaph: :" Blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord" "No," you say, "that
would not be appropriate" "I.et me die the
death of the righteous and let my last end be
like his" NO" you say, that would not
be appropriate" Then give me the mallet
and the chisel and will cut an honest cpl
taph: 81 Here lies the victim Of disspating
associations"
Another test by which you can find whether
your secret society is right or wrong is the
effect it has upon your secular occupation
can understand how through such an institu-
ton man can reach commercial success l
know some men have formed their best bust
secret society has advantaged you in an hon
orable calling it is good one. But
has your credit failedl Are bargain makers
more anxious how they trust you with bale
Of goods! Have the men whose name were
down in the commercial agency A l, before
they entered the society, been going down
/ ~i"n- = commercial standings Then look out
and l every day kn~ -.-.cial
establishments going to ruin through the
social excuses of one or two members, their
| fortune beaten to death with ball players
bat, or cut amidships with the prov CT the
regatta, or going down under the swift hoofs
or the fast horses, or drowned in the large po-
tations of Cognac or Monongahela. That Sc
cret society was the Loeb Earn. The business
was the Vile de Havre. They struck and the
| Vile de Havre went under!'
The third test by which you may know
whether the soiety to which you belong is
good or bad is this What is its effect on your
sense of moral and religious obligations Now,
If should take the names of all the people in
this audience this morning and put them
on roll, and then | should lay that
roll back of this organ, and n
hundred years from now some one should
take that roll and call it from A to u there
would not one Of you answer | say that any
society that makes me forget that fact is a
bad society. When | go to Chicago | am
somewhat perplexed at Buffalo, as | suppose
many travellers are, AS to whether it is
better to take the Lake Shore route
or the Michigan Central, equally expeditions
and equally safe, getting to their destination
! at the same time But suppose that | hear
that on one route the track is torn up, the
bridges are down and the switches are un
locked, it will not take me great while tt
decide which road to take. Now, there are
two roads in the future-the Christian anc
the un-Christiar, the safe and the unsafe. Any
| Institution nj an nSSDciatipu that cOpfllSps
my ideas in regard to that fact is u bad insti
tuition and a bad association | had prayer.
before joined that society, did have then
nfterward! ! attended the house of God be
fore connected myself with that union, do
absent myself from religious influences
| Which would you rather have in YOU
hand when you come to die-a pacl
VI caids or Bblet Which woul'
you rather have pressed to your lips in tn,
closing mornent-the cup of Belshazzareal
wussail or the chalce of Christian commun
ion! Who would you rather have for you
pail bearers the elders of a Christian church
or the companions whose conversation wa
full OF slang and innuendo! Who would yo,
rather have for your eternal companions
those men who spend their evening"
betting, gambling, swearing, carousine
child, that bright girl whom thu
Lord took, Oh you would not have beer
away so much nights, would you, if you hac
known she was going away so soon! Dea'
me, your house has never been the same place
since Your wife has never frightened up
she has never got over it, She never will ge
overi it. How long the evenings are with III
one to PIT TO bed, and no one to whom tt
tell the beautiful Bible stories
What pity it is that You cannot spent
more evenings at home in trying to help hel
bear that sorrow. You can never drown tina
grief in the wine cup. You can never breal
away from tho little arms that used to bt
flung around your neck when she used to 81 Y
Papa, do stay with me tonight. Do sta,
with me tonight" You will never be able t
wipe away from your lips the dying kiss o
your little girl The fascination of a bad Sc
cret society is so great that sometimes maj
has turned his back on his home when hi
child was dying Of scarlet fever. He wen
away. Before he got back at midnight tn
eyes had been closed, the undertake
had done his work, and the wife
worn out with three weeks watching, lay I'LL
conscious in the next room Then the re
turned father comes upstairs. and he saes tn
cradle gone and the windows up, and says
"What is the matterf' On the Judgmen
Day he will find out what was the matter
Oh, man astray God help you | am goin,
TO make very stout rope. You know tina
4 III It